the.com/enantiomer
same molecule, mirror image, utterly different handshake with the world.
means one of a pair of molecules that are non-superimposable mirror images of each other, like your left and right hand.
from from greek enantios meaning opposite, coined in the 19th century as chemists like pasteur discovered molecules could be chiral, twisting light in opposite directions despite identical formulas.
pasteur discovery1848, he sorted crystals by hand under a microscope.
same everythingidentical melting point, boiling point, density, formula.
only differhow they rotate polarized light and react with other chiral molecules.
thalidomide disasterone enantiomer healed nausea, the other caused birth defects.
for instance
thalidomide — 1950s-60s sedative, one mirror form teratogenic, thousands of babies affected.
limonene — one form smells like oranges, the other like pine.
carvone — r-carvone is spearmint, s-carvone is caraway seed.
ibuprofen — sold as a mix, only the s-form is active.